Zanzibar: slavery, spices and kiteboarding heaven.

Zanzibar evokes visions of white sandy beaches that run for kilometres, exotic spices and food to go with it. Those visions are easily rendered into reality, but there is also lingering memories of a sad era of human slavery in the not too distant past.

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The real reason for visiting Zanzibar ? As a kiteboarding enthusiast, Zanzibar is high on the top places in the world to enjoy this sport. My family wanted to see the African animals, and we did, so why not have a bit of beachside down time to cap things off ?

Most of the kiteboarding enthusiasts stay on the cheaper, and busier end of Paje Beach. We were splashing a bit of money on this trip to satisfy my wife's need for comfort. What the heck, so we stayed at a resort at the other end of the beach.

I've softened up. This place was nice, and it turns out, not a whole lot dearer than the busy end of town (so my wife tells me). It was a much more pleasant place to kiteboard at as well, as there was far less people. The only downside was that there was hardly any wind for the duration of our stay. I was glad to have brought my big kite and board.

The water was warm, the day temperatures warm and humidity at a tolerable level. The girls wanted to give kiteboarding a go too. My youngest daughter had no troubles being light and sporty. She was up and about in very low winds with my 14.5m Ocean Rodeo kite, remembering her lessons from way back in 2014.

Unfortunately for the eldest, we ran out of wind and it was a struggle to keep the kite in the air. No stress, what are island holidays for, but to relax and enjoy those sunsets.

Now, why did we really visit Zanzibar ? Ah, yes the romance. I am not all sport and adventure. I am a romantic at heart. We celebrate two anniversaries a year, one for meeting and the other marrying my first(and only) wife. This one is particularly special as it is our 25th. In addition, our eldest daughter just graduated from university.

Wind back the story a bit. The airport in Zanzibar is a confusing mess. The luggage is dumped in piles on the tarmac, it was amazing our stuff was still there and in one piece. Then there was the queues to process. One queue is for international and the other domestic, though it was somewhat confusing as it wasnt that specific. The girls insisted on going to the international visitors queue and ended up going through passport control. No big arguments though - you don't do that in places like this. I instead, waltzed over and used the local queue, and said we'll meet outside, knowing that it meant domestic travel. I was quite right, as we had just come from Arusha in Tanzania. So I got processed quickly and the girls suffered the painful interrogative process of customs control.

Frustrations tossed aside, our chaperone had a big smile, welcome to Zanzibar !

The old part of town was well worth the visit. There is so much history packed in here. The people are friendly, buildings and streets in keeping with their era; it has a great vibe.

The girls could not help themselves with a bit of retail therapy and a bit of henna decoration.

There is the other less glassy eyed view of Zanzibar. For instance, the schools are run on a shoestring budget. Though the people are seemingly quite well educated, there is a lot missing in the way of education resources. I witnessed this by accident, strolling past a classroom where a teacher was doing some lessons. We were invited in. I don't think it was a ruse, it was quite clear the school needed assistance, so a donation was made to the school.

Then there was the years of slavery. Zanzibar was a key port for the slave traders. Imagination and reality. Words dissapear from my fingers on this keyboard as I recall the museum depictions and stories of this era. I am not surpised that the agonies of this era are ongoing to this day. This visit was a heartbreaking, but essential part of this holiday.

Life goes on. Zanzibar has day and night vibe with the night markets by the water. The food was presented, tasted good and we survived without any stomach suffering.

Zanzibar, the spice island. A visit to a spice farm was a must. We learnt a lot about spices and what plants they come from. They seem to taste and smell better at their country of origin too. Perhaps it's the glassy eyes of holiday and romance again.

The monkeys are on island time too and were well behaved, or well trained to keep their mischievous antics at bay.

We were glad to have tacked Zanzibar on to our trip to Tanzania. It was a pleasant juxtaposition to the interior visit to the animal parks near Arusha.